County finds bridge corridor tough to choose

Orangedale believes a new bridge across the St. Johns River should go over Popo Point, but residents near Popo Point think Orangedale is the best location.

However, given a tumult of mixed and confusing messages from St. Johns County commissioners Wednesday, no one really knows what the local recommendation on the bridge route will be to the Florida Department of Transportation.

After three hours of testimony from county residents and dispute within its own ranks about the need for a bridge, the commission deadlocked in a 2-2 vote on a motion by Vice Chairman James Bryant.

An estimated 200 to 300 residents packed the room.

Bryant recommended the "modified pink" route because it traverses farm and timber land.

Chairman Bruce Maguire recused himself from this vote because his family owns land along the corridor.

Maguire said the county should make its wishes known. "We have to recommend something to prevent the DOT from pursuing a route that doesn't meet our goals," Maguire said.

The modified pink route begins near the Shands Bridge, turns due north and then due east to link up with Interstate 95. It was an add-on route to give the county one more option.

Other routes include purple, brown, pink and -- mysteriously -- a black route. The commissioners didn't know where the black route was, but did know they didn't want it.

"There is a pent-up demand that definitely will increase as time goes by," Clem said. "County Road 210 is not designed to be a regional travel route. It has become that, but it will not be functional (over time). And this county has taken the position that it doesn't wish to widen State Road 13 to increase capacity."

All commissioners except Ben Rich agree that a bridge is necessary. He points to the gridlock of Duval County.

"There is no justification for a bridge," Rich said. "I'm not interested in watching the county explode (with growth) to satisfy the demands of the development juggernaut."

Bryant took strong issue with that contention.

"As we move forward, we have to try and make the best decisions we can. There's going to be development. 'No build' is skirting our responsibilities. We need the best connection we can get to I-95."

His motion for the modified pink was supported by Commissioner Karen Stern. But Rich and Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson voted against it, bringing a 2-2 tie and effectively killing the motion.

Stevenson supported voting for a corridor, but didn't say why she did not like the modified pink. The dislike of the route by Orangedale residents might be one clue.

"We will be drowning in our own traffic without a outer beltway," Stevenson said.

Marc P. Sokolay of Orangedale said modified pink would "ruin a lot of prime residential land. The negatives far outweigh the positives. This road will only help commuters from Clay County get to Jacksonville. For this we'll spend $1 billion?"

For the record, county officials said the cost estimate so far is a mere $500 million.

Nick Morris said the route would "severely impact Orangedale and ruin the Castaway Cove community. This isn't about maps or property values. This is about homes, family, lifestyle and community."

Maguire said that in 25 years, the county will wish it had built the bridge already.

"We can shut our borders, but we'd still be besieged by traffic that we have no control over. We can't sit back and let the DOT tell us where they want the bridge," he said. "We've been studying this for 15 years. It's taken us this long to get this far, but it really isn't very far at all."

The commission toyed with delaying a decision, but Clem reminded them, "The longer this delays, the more problems multiply."